Early the next morning, Zhou Shoushan slung a bamboo basket over his back, while Zhou Qinghe carried a small basket. Zhou Xiaozhou, bundled up in a thick cotton-padded jacket, was nestled in his father’s arms.
The three had barely reached the courtyard gate when Madam Ma poked her head out.
“Oh? Where are you off to?”
Zhou Qinghe answered with a smile, “We’re going to town to sell some chestnuts.”
Madam Ma glanced at the bamboo basket and curled her lip.
“That’s all the mountain produce you’ve got? How much could it possibly fetch? Don’t come crawling back after failing to earn enough even to cover the cart fare.”
Zhou Shoushan didn’t respond.
Zhou Xiaozhou, however, waved his little hand at her.
“Eldest Aunt, we’ll come back and tell you how much we earned!”
Madam Ma’s face turned livid at his words.
But the child wore such an innocent smile that she couldn’t even bring herself to scold him.
Suppressing a laugh, Zhou Shoushan carried his son out of the gate.
Once the ox cart had slowly made its way out of the village, Zhou Qinghe quietly lifted the cloth covering the basket and peeked at the chestnuts inside.
Suddenly, she felt a little nervous.
“Father, do you think we’ll be able to sell them?”
Zhou Shoushan thought for a moment.
“We’ll sell as many as we can. If we can’t sell them all, we’ll just bring them home and eat them ourselves.”
Leaning against his father’s chest, Zhou Xiaozhou reached out and gently took his sister’s finger.
“Eldest Sister, don’t be scared.”
“We’re not cheating anyone. The chestnuts are so good. There’ll definitely be people who want them.”
Qinghe looked at him and finally smiled.
This was her first time going to town to sell something on her own, properly conducting business like an adult.
She was eager to get a good price, yet worried she wouldn’t handle things well.
Still, whatever happened, she had to give it a try.
The ox cart rolled past the village entrance.
The road ahead gradually grew busier. They had arrived at the town market.
The market was held on days ending in three and eight.
By the time the Zhou family arrived, the streets were already bustling.
Vegetable sellers, egg vendors, and people carrying baskets of mountain produce crowded the streets.
It was Zhou Qinghe’s first time handling a sale on her own, and her heart was pounding.
Zhou Shoushan found an empty spot with her and helped lay out the chestnuts.
Beside them was a woman selling red dates.
She glanced at the Zhou family’s basket and asked with a smile, “How much are your chestnuts?”
Just as Qinghe was about to answer, a man who bought mountain produce came over.
“Let me have a look.”
He grabbed a handful of chestnuts and squeezed them.
“Decent size, but a little on the small side. Seven wen per jin. I’ll take the whole lot.”
Qinghe froze.
Before coming, she had asked around and learned that chestnuts sold individually at the town market could fetch eleven or twelve wen per jin.
But this man was willing to buy everything at once, which would save her quite a bit of trouble.
She hesitated.
Zhou Shoushan wasn’t familiar with market prices either, so he could only turn to his daughter.
“Qinghe, you decide.”
The buyer couldn’t help laughing when he heard that.
“Such a big business deal, and you’re letting a little girl make the decision?”
Zhou Shoushan smiled.
“She gathered these herself, so naturally, she should be the one to decide.”
A warm feeling spread through Qinghe’s chest.
She bit her lip.
“Uncle, could you give us eight wen?”
“Seven wen means seven wen.”
The man waved his hand.
“Take your time selling them, then.”
With that, he turned and walked away.
The light in Qinghe’s eyes dimmed.
“Father, did I ruin the deal?”
“It’s fine.”
Zhou Shoushan reassured her.
“We’re not desperate for money today. We can take our time selling them.”
The woman selling red dates beside them smiled.
“Your father is right, little girl. That man comes around buying mountain produce all the time. He always offers low prices. Your chestnuts are nice and clean, though. You can try selling them one by one.”
Qinghe quickly thanked her.
Sitting on a little stool, Zhou Xiaozhou swung his short legs.
“Eldest Sister, why don’t we pick out some of the bigger ones and put them at the front?”
“Why?”
“I saw the other sellers putting their biggest, reddest dates on display!”
Qinghe turned to look and realized he was right.
She couldn’t help laughing.
“That little head of yours is pretty observant.”
Father and daughter rearranged the chestnuts.
Before long, their first customer came over to ask the price.
“Twelve wen per jin?”
An old woman frowned.
“The stall next door is only selling them for ten wen!”
Qinghe hurriedly explained, “Auntie, all our chestnuts were freshly gathered. We’ve already picked out the bad ones. You can take a look for yourself.”
The old woman picked up a handful and examined several of them.
They were indeed plump and well-filled.
“Eleven wen. I’ll take two jin.”
Qinghe looked at Zhou Shoushan.
He nodded.
“All right.”
Their first sale was complete.
Qinghe held the copper coins in her palm, feeling a faint warmth spread through her hand.
Twenty-two wen.
She had negotiated that deal herself.
Another half hour passed, and several more customers came by.
Some thought the price was too high, while others tasted the chestnuts before deciding to buy.
One woman even took a few chestnuts, then secretly slipped two extra ones into her hand after they had been weighed.
Qinghe noticed but was too embarrassed to say anything.
Zhou Xiaozhou noticed, too.
He tugged at his sister’s sleeve.
“Eldest Sister, I want some chestnuts.”
Qinghe was taken aback.
“Xiaozhou, how about we eat some when we get home?”
“But that auntie took three extra ones. That means we’re short by three chestnuts!”
He said it loudly and clearly.
The woman’s face flushed.
“Who took anything? Little boy, don’t go making things up!”
Zhou Xiaozhou held up his fingers.
“One, two, three.”
Zhou Shoushan looked up.
With everyone staring at her, the woman awkwardly put the chestnuts back.
“They’re only a few chestnuts. Is it really worth making such a fuss over?”
Zhou Shoushan replied calmly, “Auntie, if you want some, our family can spare a few. But if you take something without paying, you should at least let the owner know.”
The woman had nothing more to say. She picked up her basket and left.
Qinghe secretly let out a sigh of relief.
“Father, I didn’t dare say anything just now.”
“It’s normal to be nervous when you’re doing business for the first time.”
Zhou Shoushan patted his daughter’s shoulder.
“Next time, speak up yourself. I’ll be right beside you.”
Qinghe nodded.
By noon, most of the chestnuts in the bamboo basket had been sold.
Only a few jin remained when the man who bought mountain produce earlier came back.
“You still haven’t sold them all?”
This time, Qinghe wasn’t flustered.
“Seven wen per jin. Would you like what’s left?”
The man was taken aback.
“Didn’t you want eight wen earlier?”
“That was when we first arrived.”
Qinghe smiled.
“Most of the good ones have already been sold. These are a mix of big and small, so seven wen is a fair price.”
The man took another look and readily agreed.
“Fine. Weigh them.”
After selling the last jin, Qinghe poured all the copper coins out and counted them.
She counted twice before she could believe her eyes.
One hundred and thirty-six wen!
After deducting the ox cart fare and the stall fee, they still had one hundred and twenty-nine wen left.
That was more than twenty wen extra compared to selling all the chestnuts directly to the buyer.
It wasn’t a huge amount, but it was the first business deal she had successfully made through her own efforts.
“Father, we really sold them all!”
Zhou Qinghe broke into a smile, her eyes shining.
Zhou Shoushan was delighted, too.
“My daughter is quite the capable one!”
Zhou Xiaozhou stretched out his little hands, eager to join in.
“I’m capable, too!”
“Yes, yes, you are.”
Zhou Shoushan scooped him up.
“Our Xiaozhou is the best at counting chestnuts.”
The woman selling red dates nearby burst out laughing.
“Your children are all such sweethearts. Each one is more adorable than the last.”
Before leaving, she even slipped two red dates into Zhou Xiaozhou’s hand.
Xiaozhou thanked her, then immediately shared them with his sister.
Zhou Qinghe couldn’t bring herself to eat them.
She carefully tucked the dates into her pocket instead.
On the way back to the village, Zhou Shoushan stopped to buy some coarse grain and a small piece of meat.
Watching the copper coins being spent, Qinghe felt a little pained.
“Father, the money we just earned…”
“Isn’t earning money supposed to be for making a living?”
Zhou Shoushan smiled.
“Besides, you worked so hard today. We ought to have a decent meal to celebrate.”
Qinghe lowered her head, but she couldn’t suppress the smile tugging at her lips.
Nestled in his father’s arms, Zhou Xiaozhou was so sleepy that he could barely keep his eyes open.
Half-asleep, he heard his father ask:
“Qinghe, would you dare come sell things again next time?”
His sister’s voice sounded soft, but there was no hesitation in it.
“I would.”
“Father, I want to come again.”
Zhou Shoushan smiled.
“Then we’ll come again.”
The ox cart rolled slowly along the field ridges.
The autumn wind rustled through the grass beside the road.
Clutching the little cloth pouch containing the copper coins, Qinghe suddenly realized that she, too, could earn a little money and give her family something to look forward to.
That evening, the Zhou family’s dinner table had meat on it for once.
Madam Liu sliced the meat thinly and stewed it with cabbage in a large pot.
The aroma drifted out of the kitchen, drawing even Zhou Xiaozao outside.
“Mother, are we having meat today?”
“That’s right. Your Eldest Sister earned some money.”
Madam Liu smiled as she ushered her daughter out.
“Go wash your hands. Dinner will be ready soon.”
Zhou Xiaozao’s eyes lit up.
“Eldest Sister, you’re amazing!”
She ran over and wrapped her arms around Qinghe’s waist.
“Next time, I’m going up the mountain with you to gather chestnuts!”
Zhou Qinghe stumbled back half a step from the impact of her little sister’s enthusiastic hug.
“All right. When the chestnuts on the mountain are ripe, we’ll go together.”
Hearing this, Zhou Xiaozhou hurriedly raised his hand.
“Me, too!”
Zhou Qinghe smiled and tapped him on the forehead.
“You should learn to walk without stumbling first before making plans like that.”
The family was laughing and chatting when Madam Ma happened to pass by the kitchen.
Catching the smell of meat, she couldn’t help stopping.
“Oh, Second Sister-in-law, having such a good meal today?”
Madam Liu smiled.
“Qinghe earned a little money selling chestnuts, so Shoushan bought a piece of meat on the way home.”
“Selling chestnuts?”
Remembering the basket of mountain produce from that morning, Madam Ma immediately perked up.
“How much did she make?”
“More than a hundred wen.”
Madam Ma’s eyelid twitched.
“That much?”
Before Madam Liu could answer, she continued, “Since you’ve earned money, shouldn’t you contribute some to the family funds? The water everyone uses and the firewood we burn in this courtyard don’t belong to the eldest or second branch separately.”
The smile faded from Madam Liu’s face.
“Father said yesterday that each branch could keep part of the money it earned outside the household.”
“But he never said you didn’t have to contribute anything to the family funds.”
Madam Ma spoke as though she were entirely in the right.
Just then, Zhou Shoushan returned from outside the courtyard.
“Eldest Sister-in-law is right.”
He set down the firewood in his hands.
“Tomorrow, I’ll pay the household contribution according to the amount Father has set.”